In conventional reciprocating engines, the straight-line movement of pistons and parts is conveyed to the rotational movement of the crankshaft, which tends to produce energy loss due to poor rotational dynamics, and to sudden mass accellerations in the pistons and related parts. Because of the "stop-start" nature of the piston and connecting link action, considerable energy loss, wear and frictional forces are encountered, which tend to draw energy away into non-useful heat and to produce wear and degradation which, if eliminated, would lengthen the life of engine parts and improve effeciency.
Many radial engine designs have been devised in the past. However, most such designs do away with the piston/cylinder concept all together, and replace the combustion chamber with various forms of dynamic chambers defined between sliding or rotating members, the geometry being such as to increase and decrease the size of the combustion chamber. Such conventional radial engines have all encountered a number of problems in their development, with the result that few if any radial engine designs are commercially used in the automobile market at the present time in North America.